PORTLAND, April 2, 2015 – The National Council for Behavioral Health has awarded LifeWorks NW, a leading mental health and addiction treatment provider, one of 18 Awards of Excellence. LifeWorks NW will receive a $10,000 grant for the award and be recognized during the council’s national conference April 21, 2015.
LifeWorks NW was the sole winner in the Integration and Wellness category.
“The Awards of Excellence honorees are our heroes – they have turned private pain into public passion, focused on people’s gifts and abilities, not their disabilities, and blended business sense and common sense into community-based solutions,” says Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health.
Integrating Care
LifeWorks NW won the award for the work it did in a pilot project with primary care provider Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and Providence Health & Services to reduce high utilization of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Emergency Department and inpatient services.
During the two-year period from mid-June 2012 through mid-June 2014, 259 patients were referred from the Providence St. Vincent ED and inpatient facilities to Virginia Garcia’s Beaverton clinic. There an integrated team of a Virginia Garcia primary care nurse practitioner and a LifeWorks NW mental health therapist – who is embedded in the clinic – developed treatment plans for each patient, integrating primary care and behavioral health services.
The treatment team also provided in-home medical and mental health care for patients – services not typically offered by primary care clinics or mental health agencies.
LifeWorks NW and Virginia Garcia have a long history providing integrated care. For more than 10 years, LifeWorks NW behavioral health therapists have been treating patients in Virginia Garcia primary care clinics.
Reducing ER Utilization
Over a two-year period from June 2012 to June 2014, metrics were used to track patients prior to intake into the program and after intake.
Providing access to primary care and behavioral health services resulted in an impressive reduction in the utilization of the Providence St. Vincent ED and hospital and cost of care was drastically slashed.
Prior to enrollment in the pilot program, the 259 patients made 408 ED visits.
Since enrollment, those visits were reduced to 251. Prior to enrollment, the 259 patients had 168 inpatient admissions. Since enrollment, inpatient admissions were cut to 70.
Here are reductions recorded during the project:
• 72% reduction in emergency department charges
• 81% reduction in emergency department inpatient charges
• 80% reduction in total charges
Total savings per patient was $43,076. Providence Health & Services estimates that the two-year pilot projected saved more than $2.8-million. The health care provider invested $960,000 to fund the program over three calendar years.
“The results from the pilot project show that providing easy access to primary care and behavioral health services can keep chronic users of the emergency department out of the ER and keep them from being admitted,” says Mary Monnat, President and CEO of LifeWorks NW. “Mental health and physical health are intertwined and treating patients and clients in an integrated care model that we have with Virginia Garcia results in comprehensive care. More than 80% of the 259 patients in the project required mental health or addiction services.”
About LifeWorks NW
Founded in 1961 and based in Portland, Oregon, LifeWorks NW provides mental health, addiction and related social services for a healthy community. The non-profit agency has clinics and service centers throughout Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. The agency’s services benefit children, teens, adults, older adults and families. Last year, LifeWorks NW provided services to more than 18,000 people.
